The Other Side Of Me
by DarkElements10
Summary: When past, present, and future collide, you'll see a side of yourself you never knew did and could exist. -Reposted from DeviantArt-.
1. Chapter 1: Sydney

**1: Sydney**

* * *

Sydney walked out of his house and into the backyard. His bare feet moved through the grass, unconcerned with the odd bug that could run over his foot or a earthworm he could squish from last night's rainfall. Nintendo DS in hand, he walked around the edge of the pool and climbed onto the hammock. Resting his head on the pillow that was set up, he crossed his feet at the ankles and powered on his Nintendo 3DS.

Waiting for his Pokémon game to load, he rested the game console on his chest, crossing his arms behind his head, listening to the waves that crashed on shore. It was a ten minute walk from his house to the beach, a twenty minute drive into the heart of Sydney-the city he was named after-and he had the rest of his life ahead of him.

At twelve years old he could do or be whatever he wanted…and he still had no idea who he was. He could say that he was happy to an extent. He had his brothers and sisters and his friends who all cared about him. He was part of MENSA and was frequently doing research projects with those that had worked with or close to his father. Opportunities that many would dream to have, things that he as a potential engineer or scientist-he hadn't decided which he wanted to be yet-would kill for.

And yet, it was just a project to him.

Maybe because he had to grow up so fast.

He barely remembered what it was like to be a kid, but at the same time, he did act like a kid. Having his brothers and sisters around, they ran around, screamed, shouted, got into fights, had stupid ideas for fun (don't even get him started on the indoor water fights, the indoor capture the flag, managing to break their washing machine, and throwing Patrick into a glass door. (Though that was purely an accident.)) and laughed louder, harder, and longer than anyone he knew.

He experienced the two sides of the coin in the matter of hours day after day, one second he acted like and was treated like a kid. Other times he had to act like a grown up and face responsibility. He wouldn't be him if it weren't for that.

"Hello!"

Sydney looked up to see a young boy standing next to the hammock. His overgrown black hair was put up into spikes at the front, out of his dark blue eyes. Dimples appeared in his cheeks as he climbed onto the other end of the hammock. Sydney sat up, making space for the boy. He hadn't heard him approach, but he wasn't worried.  
In fact, he felt serene.

"I'm Syd!" The boy stuck out his hand towards Sydney, his dimples deepening as Sydney looked back at him. "How ya going?"

"Sydney." Sydney grabbed onto Syd's hand and shook it firmly. "Fine." He brought up his knees resting his arms on his thighs. "How 'bout you?"

"Oh, I'm bonzer!" Syd's eyes were lit up. "I just got an offer to head a big project along with my Dad. Well," he shrugged. "I'm not exactly going to be working with him; it's going to be more like a internship thing. But still, I'm excited, it's gonna be so cool."

Sydney smiled and nodded. "Sounds like fun." He gave a modest shrug. "I've been doing some projects too. Working with some people that worked with my Dad. I've just finished my most recent one and I'm going to be starting a new one soon."

"Really? What was it about?" Syd blinked calmly at Sydney's suddenly stricken face. He placed a hand to his forehead, hiding the emotions that flashed over his face. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Sydney shook his head. He gave a short laugh, his dimples appearing in his cheeks. "I just…don't really remember. I've been doing so many of them recently; I can't remember which one was the one I just recently finished."

Syd shook his head. "It's so hard being the smartest sometimes isn't it?"

"Oh yeah," Sydney agreed. "I have to dumb down a lot of what I'm saying so it doesn't confuse anyone more than they already are."

Both boys laughed, their laughter harmonizing well. But Syd's sounded more…genuine. Sydney was suddenly hyper aware of that. It caused him to cut his laughter short.

"You're working with your Dad?" He changed the subject. "What about your Mum?"

"Mum's a math teacher," Syd replied.

"So was mine!" Sydney's eyes lit up and he smiled so widely, this time a genuine smile, his dimples deepening to Syd's level. "Apparently she was the best at the high school she taught at." Syd gave a sympathetic smile. It made Sydney feel better. "So what do you like to do for fun?"

"A lot of things, mate," Syd admitted with an airy laugh. "A lot of things. Computers, video games, watching TV, surfing, playing soccer, riding my scooter. I really just like to hang out with my friends. We go to the beach a lot."

Sydney's eyebrows twitched. "What about school?"

"I go to school. Mum and Dad wanted me to be able to have as normal a life as I could." Syd cocked his head to the side. "What about you?"

"Homeschooled for the most part," Sydney replied. "It makes sense though, because…" he twisted his hands together. "Well, not many kids my age like me. I usually only have friends because they're my brothers' and sisters' friends."

"Oh." Syd frowned. "That's too bad." He looked at his watch. "Actually, I have to get going or I'm going to be late meeting them." He quickly climbed off of the hammock. Sydney slid off as well. At the same time, the two of them stretched their arms over their heads, and then ran their hand through their hair.

It was one of Sydney's habits when he stretched; no one else in his family did it.  
Sydney gave a small smile, which Syd returned. "Cheers," he said quietly.

"Cheers." Syd smiled back.

Sydney turned at the sound of his Pokémon game starting up, the familiar 8-bit music reminding him of his days where he was younger and would sit on his brothers backs, leaning over their shoulders to watch them play on their own game consoles. He picked it up and held it in his hand; the memories flooding back as he watched the start screen.

Sydney climbed back onto the hammock.

Resting his head on the pillow that was set up, he crossed his feet at the ankles, started up his Pokémon game, and listened to the waves that crashed on shore. 

* * *

**A/N:** If you were confused, basically I got the idea, what if DE somehow met themselves and what they would be like if their parents didn't die. This can coincide with any fandom that my characters are in so it can be in Big Time Rush, Just My Luck/McFly, SLOZAC/SLOD, what have you. If you've seen my characters in the fandom, these can apply to it.

That being said, it's going to be all of the Jacksons and they're all going to be somewhat short, I don't intend them to be long. Some of their personalities will stay the same, as it makes sense, but other things of their personalities only came up due to their circumstances as you've seen with this first one.

I hope you guys liked it.

Cheers,

-Riles


	2. Chapter 2: Noah

**2: Noah**

* * *

"I'm just saying that if you're going to have an opinion on it, you may want to be sure that you have your facts straight." Noah smiled and laughed as he tossed his surfboard onto the sand. Beside him, his friend, Storm, let out a loud sigh as she rolled her eyes.

"You know, sometimes you can be really annoying," she said. She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin, looking up at him. "I don't know if it's a guy thing or what, but it can get tiring really fast."

"Really?" Noah pretended to think about it. He even pressed a finger to his chin, feigning interest. "I've never heard that before." He leaned forward and poked a finger into Storm's forehead, pushing her back a couple of steps. "Must be a girl thing. Must be a you thing."

"You know nothing about girls, Noah," Storm said.

Having my sisters around, that's next to impossible. Noah picked up her beach bag and brushed the sand off of it before handing it over to her with a warm smile. "I beg to differ," he replied. "Because I can be the perfect gentleman." He unleashed his surfboard from his ankle and wrapped it up. He then leaned over and grabbed his board bag and shoved his surfboard inside before zipping it up. "Considering there doesn't seem to be many of them around anymore."

Storm gave him a sympathetic smile. "Those boofheads messing with your family again?"

Noah shrugged mysteriously. "Not so much as they used to." Not unless their mouths finally healed. He picked up his board bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll see you later, Storm." He flashed the peace sign before starting up the beach. He reached the wooden boardwalk quickly and started up it, being careful not to hit anyone with his surfboard as he maneuvered around the crowd that headed his way, wanting to bask in the surf and sand as well.

"How ya going!"

An older man blocked Noah's path. Noah blinked and backed up a few steps so he could take in the man in front of him. He looked about as friendly as any other person. He regarded Noah with a warm smile, as if he was waiting for Noah to recognize him. If that were the case, Noah gave a small smile.

"I hope things are going well with your family. How is everyone?"

"Good," Noah said. His voice was quiet, quieter than normal. He shuffled his feet, still trying to figure out how this stranger knew him. He did look familiar, but…he couldn't quite place him. I know I've seen him somewhere before.

"Last time I saw any of you guys was before I got that job transfer, please say hello to your mum for me!" The man continued.

"Oh!" Noah relaxed into a smile. That's how he knew the man. He used to work with his mother at the high school before he got a job transfer. Sure, he had been young the last time that he had seen the man, but it was still nice to see a friendly face. "Of course. Mum would be glad to hear from you. She says that she hasn't been as entertained at school since you left."

The man gave a hearty laugh. "That'll be right." He held out his hand and Noah took it, shaking it firmly. "Good to see ya. Have a good one. Cheers."

"Cheers," Noah replied with a bright smile.

The man walked around Noah and headed down the beach. Noah shifted his surfboard on his arm again and continued the short, ten minute walk to his house. As soon as he stepped in the back door, a lot of noise reached his ears, not that that was any surprise. Their house was always loud.

"Try and get me now, Patrick!"

Noah rested his surfboard against the back wall of the house before opening the sliding glass door and stepping into the kitchen. He turned around and let out a grunt as Sydney ran into him before ducking behind him. Patrick then raced into the kitchen behind him, his face red. "Where is he?" He demanded.

"Who?" Noah raised his eyebrows. He then smirked. "Oh, the five foot midget that seemed to piss you off somehow?"

Sydney moved out from behind Noah's back, frowning. "I'm not a midget!" He snapped. As Noah's smirk widened, Sydney realized that he had been tricked and scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Noah reminded him, reaching and flicking him on the nose. Sydney pushed his hand away. Sydney let out a yelp and started to run around the counter as Patrick scrambled after him.

"Noah!"

Noah looked up and smiled sheepishly when he saw his mother standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wiping her hands off with a dishtowel. Though her brown eyes regarded him with annoyance, she had a warm smile on her face.

"Sorry, Mum," he apologized.

He closed his eyes, wincing at the sound of something breaking.

Noah's eyes flew open.

For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. As he sat up, he took in his surroundings. His room was dark, the dying light as the sun set streamed through the window, getting darker as the seconds passed. Wiping drool off of his chin, Noah looked down at his open notebook, seeing the empty pages, and warily closed it. Pushing back his chair, he stood up from the desk and left the bedroom. Walking downstairs, Noah started into the kitchen, but was stopped with something pressing into his stomach.

"Watch it, bro," Rhuben warned, still holding the broom handle against his stomach. "I dropped a glass, be careful where you step." She flipped the broom around and started to sweep up the tiny shards of glass. Noah glanced down at his bare feet before reaching out his arms.

"No worries, sis." He braced his hands on the counter and lifted himself up with one push, swinging himself over onto the counter. Reaching over to the fruit basket that sat beside him, he grabbed an apple and examined it for a moment. "When's dinner?" He became acutely aware of the fact that there wasn't much going on around the house. Sure, the TV was on somewhere, he could faintly hear it, but it wasn't…it wasn't as comforting. Not many things are comforting anymore.

"Dunno," Rhuben replied. "Ask Riles, I think she's making spaghetti." She balanced the broom against the counter and picked up the dustpan, dumping the debris into the trashcan. Frowning, Rhuben turned back to Noah. "S'matter?" She regarded him carefully. "You look kind of weird."

"Nothing." Noah shook his head, his long fringe falling in his face. Do I really look 'weird'? Or have I just not noticed it lately…how much I show with my face instead of verbalizing it? "I'm fine."

"If you say so." Rhuben looked like she wanted to press the subject further, but instead, changed the subject.

Noah nodded and gave a small smile. Rhuben reached over and mussed his hair. He quickly pushed her hand away and shook his head, allowing his hair to fall back into place, perfectly. She looked at him, her eyes showing annoyance, but her face showing amusement.

"Noah!"

Noah turned to watch as Sydney walked into the kitchen, his hands shoved into the front pocket of his sweatshirt, a mixture of a pout and a frown on his face. He was looking at his feet as he walked over to his brother.

"What's up, Little Man?" Noah addressed him.

"Patrick's mad at me," Sydney said. He lifted his gaze from his feet, his big eyes wide with anxiety. He gave a half smile. "I beat him in Super Smash Bros Brawl and he said that he wouldn't want to play against me anymore because it's not fair." Sydney then let out a huff of air, blowing his hair off of his forehead. "He's just mad because I'm better than him and he can't handle it."

"I heard that!" Came Patrick's voice from a couple of rooms away. There was the sound of chairs moving. "Where'd you go?!"

Sydney turned back to his older siblings. "Yeah, he's been chasing me around, too. I only just came out of my hiding spot."

"Well, Pat sucks at the game anyway," Noah remarked. He bent at the waist until he was at Sydney's level. "Tell him if he continues to mess with you, he'll have to answer to me, alright?" Sydney beamed and turned on his heel, running out of the room. A second later the sounds of Sydney's laughter and his and Patrick's thudding footsteps could be heard.

Noah's smile widened. 

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**A/N**: Noah was a bit difficult to show his differences as his opposite is Patrick (minus his tendencies to be a bit slow) so I was trying to think of other ways to make him different. The main thing is that after everything he's been through, he's more in his head than outspoken. I'm not sure if I pulled it off well, but I hope you guys liked it. His was purposefully stylized to be different than the way that Sydney's was, so let me know if you were confused.


End file.
